A tropical fungus that sickened a Port Townsend man this year has been blamed in 15 deaths and 60 illnesses in four U.S. states over the last six years, health officials said Thursday.
Cryptococcus gattii, a rare airborne fungus that appeared on Vancouver Island in the late 1990s, has spread south into Washington state, Oregon, Idaho and California.
Rudo Van Lelyveld, 60, of Port Townsend was diagnosed with cryptococcus gattii in April.
There have been no other confirmed cases on the North Olympic Peninsula.
“We’ve only had that one case,” said Dr. Tom Locke, public health officer for Clallam and Jefferson counties.
“Since that time, we haven’t had any additional cases. We’re certainly in a heightened surveillance mode.”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report this week that showed 43 cases in Oregon, 15 cases in Washington, one in Idaho and one in California.
Of those 60 cases, the fungus caused nine deaths and was believed to be a factor in the other six, the CDC said.
Illness occurs months after people inhale microscopic spores that grow on or around trees.
The overall risk to the public is very low, and there’s no need for people to avoid going outdoors and exercising, said Julie Harris, an epidemiologist with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Port Townsend man
Van Lelyveld thought he had the flu when he experienced respiratory distress last December.
Although he is still experiencing some tightness in his chest, Van Lelyveld said his energy and overall health has improved.
“Things are going good,” Van Lelyveld said on Thursday.
“I have absolutely no headaches anymore and no night sweats.”
Symptoms include a persistent cough, headache and shortness of breath. Some cases have worsened into pneumonia- or meningitus-like illnesses.
Treatment involves six to eight weeks of intravenous antifungal medications followed by months of pills. The symptoms are curable if cryptococcus gattii is correctly diagnosed, Locke said.
Cut dosage
Van Lelyveld was taking large doses of the anti-fungal drug fluconazole when he spoke with the Peninsula Daily News in May. Doctors have since cut his dosage from 800 milligrams to 400 milligrams per day.
“I suspect I contracted it on the east side of Vancouver Island last year right about at this time,” Van Lelyveld said.
Van Lelyveld said he was playing tag in the woods with his family, and was “the lucky one who inhaled one of those spores.”
“I’m just about convinced that it entered me there,” he said.
A specialist from the University of Washington Medical Center is conferring with Van Lelyveld’s primary care doctor to determine the next course of action.
British Columbia
British Columbia has counted 272 illnesses since the first cases were detected.
Canadian officials don’t have an up-to-date count of deaths, but an earlier analysis suggested a death rate of about 9 percent.
The strain of fungus that moved into Oregon in 2004 has mutated to become more lethal than the original strain that invaded British Columbia, researchers have said.
Van Lelyveld’s case — and nearly all of the Washington cases — have been confirmed as the British Columbia strain of cryptococcus gattii, Locke said.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
